It hardly seemed like winter for the Rivanna Schutzhund and Police Club January Trial.  In almost Spring like weather members earned 3 BH's, 3 new SchH I's, and a new FH2 in addition to one repeat SchH III.

SV judge Ludwig Wimmer arrived at Dulles from Munich Wednesday afternoon.  Rae and Ron met him there and drove him to the farm, where Armin had venison chili, steak, sweet potatoes, and fresh pumpkin cornbread waiting.  Thursday Herr Wimmer rested and hiked in the woods while a few of us got in some last-minute training.

Friday
Sickness and a family issue reduced the Friday roster to two teams for the BH.  Neither handler was required to take the written test, so we went directly to the field a little after noon.  Armin and Akira did the field exercises first, and Akira gave a spirited, clean performance.  Michelle and Eddy followed, with Eddy showing how far he's come since arriving here in Virginia.  He also passed with no serious difficulties, and we all headed to the Food Lion shopping center for the traffic portion.  The traffic test was no problem for either dog, and it even got a little more realistic for Akira when an oblivious shopper walked right by her with his grocery bags while Armin was tying her out.

Then it was back to the farm for a little more rest for the judge, a little more training for the SchH dogs getting ready for Saturday, and, of course, happy hour and dinner.  More chili, fresh tuna caught by Andy, potatoes, chocolate cake, and adequate supplies of adult beverages completed the evening.

Saturday Tracking
At 7:30 AM it was pitch black and pouring rain.  We only had 4 dogs to do and the radar map on weather.com showed that the rain would be ending soon, so we decided to wait.  By 8:30 the rain stopped, so Tim headed out to lay the two SchH III tracks, followed by Rae and Fiona to lay their SchH I tracks.

Rae and Diago started the day.  First time handler nerves, and conditions which appeared harder than we thought they'd be gave Diago some problems.  He missed the first article, but managed to get to the end with a score of 74.  Cara also had some problems, but finished the track with a 72.  Now it was time for the SchH 3 dogs.  Tim had vigorously applied his large boots to the field, but the extremely wet conditions were tough for Fabio, who completed the track with a 77.  Arnot had a little trouble at the start, but tracked well after that.  Unfortunately, he ignored those pesky stopping places along the way, so he only earned 80 points.  Relieved that all the dogs made it through, we returned to the guesthouse for breakfast.

Saturday Obedience
Just as it did at our last winter trial, the sun came out as the first pair reported onto the field for obedience.  If anyone can refresh my memory about the rest of the trial so that I can finish this artcle, I'd appreciate it.

Trial Snapshots

Thank you, Herr Wimmer, for being a fair and convivial judge.  Thank you, Dave Hooper, Matt Akenhead, and Doug Wendling, for strong, correct helper work.  You insure that the titles earned here are really earned.  Thank you, Tim, for laying the tracks.  Thank you, Armin, for organizing the trial, coordinating the tracks, and preparing feasts Friday and Saturday night.  And, of course, for the training we successfully tested this weekend.  Thank you, Evette, for once again being trial secretary.  Thank you to the various photographers who took pictures to remember the event.  And thank you to all the competitors and spectators for good sportsmanship and for pitching in and helping when we needed it.

Schutzhund I
Dog	Handler	A	B	C
Diago vom Jagarhaus	E Rae Irvine	74	82	88 a	244	G
Cara vom Münchbach	Fiona Winkler	72	80	94 a	246	G
Momentumm Strategic Command	Chris Lietzau	96	85	80 vh	261	G
Schutzhund III
Dog	Handler	A	B	C
Fabio Abba Sonia	Matt Akenhead	77	65	93 a	-	M
Arnot vom Tiefen Teich	Ron Harris	80	90	85 a	255	G
Trold Chief	James Laney	96	88	90 a	274	SG

Begleithund
Dog	Handler
Akira von Raptor Ridge	Armin Winkler
Eddy vd Geissenwand	Michelle Testa
Ascomannis Gero	Melissa Laney

FH 2
Dog	Handler	A
Ax vd Kiwi's	Michelle Testa	75	B